Just FYI, before we start: considering that the whole chapter takes place in France, most of the conversations are in French in the story (unless specified) but in English in the text. There are, however, a couple of lines in French, and you will find the translation at the bottom of the chapter. Have fun learning French ;P
Chapter 2 – Nevaeh de Montignac
Even for a Sunday Brunch with friends, Nevaeh was always the best one dressed. Why wear some ugly shorts and a t-shirt when you could be fabulous? Also, her new heels went really well with her outfit, so she just had to show them off.
She was still putting makeup on when she heard the door-bell ring. She didn't move, concentrated in applying her mascara. She knew one of the staff members would open it for her and let her guests in. Her blond hair was piled on her head in a perfectly done messy braid, and her makeup said 'Sunday brunch' like no other, just the right amount of 'I just woke up' and 'I've been working on my makeup for an hour'. She had put on a black jumpsuit that was fluid enough to let the warm late spring air flow around her perfectly trimmed limbs. The top wrapped her chest kimono-style. It was by far one of the most comfortable yet fancy outfits she had.
Nevaeh stood from her vanity, slipped on her velvet lilac Louboutin stilettos and headed downstairs, where the maid would have brought the guests. The southern terrace was her favorite spot with a magnificent view over the Mediterranean Sea, and she would never get enough of that sight. That's why she had moved from Paris to Nice, in the south of France, a couple of years back.
Her best friend was typing something on her phone, oblivious to the breathtaking view.
"Adeline!" Nevaeh said. "Oh, mon Dieu, ça me fait tellement plaisir de te voir!" She click-clacked her way on the beige tiles and Adeline looked up from her phone.
"Nevaeh! Happy Birthday!"
Both young women hug briefly before giving each other air kisses on each cheek, as was the French custom.
"How are you doing?" Adeline asked.
"I'm absolutely great," Nevaeh replied. "Nothing better than brunch, a view over the sea, and a group of friends."
Just then, three other guests walked in with a bottle of champagne and gifts for the duchess herself. As if she needed anything. But it was her birthday, so they brought gifts. She had urged them not to bring anything, and yet, they still felt obligated to do so.
The five young people sat around the lavish table filled with all different kinds of food – especially bread, like baguettes, croissants, pains au chocolat, and so on – and lots of other deliciously yummy looking food. Nevaeh was a vegetarian, but she had asked her cook to prepare some meat-based foods for her guests.
The light June breeze ruffled the stray strands of hair, and the stone pines above them swayed gently, joining in their laughter and loud talk. From the terrace of her home, Nevaeh could hear the waves crashing on the shore and the seagulls flying in the sky in circles with their piercing cries. She had wanted an easy birthday brunch with her close friends, and frankly, she didn't need anything else. She was happy, and there was nothing that could take that away from her.
Adeline snapped her fingers in front of Nevaeh's face. "Youhou, allô la lune, ici la terre," she said. "Daydreaming again, Nev?"
"No, of course, not," Nevaeh replied. She took the crystal glass between perfectly manicured fingers and sipped her champagne. "I can't believe he said that to you," she said, picking up on the conversation she had been listening with only one ear. "You should have dumped him on the spot."
Adeline shrugged. "Yeah, well, you know I never do the same mistake twice. Unless he's hot. And let me tell you, Nev. This guy was the hottest I have ever seen."
Nevaeh nodded in agreement, although she didn't agree with her friend. Thibault Bettencourt was the epitome of honeyed suaveness, and it made Nevaeh's skill crawl. She hated the man. But how many times had she tried to stop the socialite from going out with men like this? Too many to count. She had stopped trying.
"Hey, Nev," Manon asked, half a croissant in her hands. "When does your hot brother arrive? I want to see him."
Nevaeh didn't roll her eyes, because it wasn't ladylike. Instead, she smiled at Manon. "Not until later this afternoon. I'm afraid you're going to miss him." And there was no way she was letting one of her closest friends date her brother. That was a no-go.
"Aw, too bad. I really like him."
Adeline put a hand on Manon's arm. "Don't go there, Manon. Henry is off-limits to us."
The others laughed at that. "Everyone knows siblings are off-limits," one of the two men present said.
"But I can just look at him, can't I?" Manon whined. "He's a Duke! For crying out loud!"
Nevaeh shook her head and let out a small chuckled. Leave it to Manon to want a guy only for his status. He could have been the ugliest man in town but a prince, Manon was going for him. At least Adeline had some self-respect and went for hot men, whatever their place in French society.
Nevaeh's phone rang in her bag, but she ignored it. She really didn't want to be bothered during her brunch. Especially if it was her father telling her he wouldn't be able to make it to her birthday dinner, later that evening. Like last year.
Nevaeh and her friends continued talking, but her phone continued to ring.
She sighed and took the device out of her bag. There were three missed called from her uncle in Illéa – what time was it over there? She did the math. It must have been urgent.
"I'm sorry, I have to take this," she excused herself, walking away from the table and into the terrace stairs, down on the lawn. She left her Louboutin on the stairs and walked barefoot on the manicured grass. She pressed the pick-up button. "Hello?" she said in English, switching easily.
"Nevaeh! Finally," HRH Prince Tobias said on the other line, a clear tone of relief in his voice. "I just wanted to wish a Happy birthday to my favorite niece!"
"Thanks, Uncle Toby," she paused. "But isn't it like the middle of the night over there?"
"Yeah, it is," he said, chuckling. "But we're kind of in the middle of something big, here."
"Yeah? Like what?" she asked. And what had that anything to do with her?
"Did you watch Friday's Royal Report?" Tobias asked her. "In replay? Or streaming? Or something? Anything?"
"No," Nevaeh said slowly. "I haven't watched it for some time. Why? Did Silas finally get out and find a girlfriend?" she mused. "Or better even, is he gay? Wait. Did someone die?"
Tobias chuckled on the other end of the line. "You're not so far off, Nevaeh." He cleared his voice. "Helena dropped a bomb on them on Friday, it's been chaos here ever since."
"Uncle Toby, please tell me what's going on? I'm nervous now."
"The-boys-are-having-a-combined-Selection-and-we-want-you-to-come-oversee-the-whole-thing-and-coordinate-the-whole-thing," he said in one breath.
Nevaeh fell silent. She had to let that sink in for a moment.
"You still there?" he asked in a tentative voice.
"Yes, I'm still here." She paused. "Let me guess," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Did you guys draw straws to decide who would drop this bomb on me? And you picked the shortest?" she asked, her voice going a bit cold despite her best effort.
"Maybe?" the Prince Consort of Illéa replied. "Look, we really need your help. I know today's your birthday and all, but this is going in all directions, and all the people who dealt with Helena's Selection are either dead, too old, or not interested. We need someone young who knows about Illéan royalty to help guide the girls and–"
"You want me to teach protocol and etiquette to the girls?" she asked. She couldn't believe this. Was this a birthday prank or was he being serious?
She heard Tobias sigh on the other end of the line. "Look, I know what we're asking is something huge and all but–"
"Can't you ask Yuna to do that? I mean, she also practically grew up in the Palace with you guys," Nevaeh said.
"We considered her, but you know how she is," Tobias said, and Nevaeh could almost see him shrug on the other continent. "She's sweet, but she doesn't have what it takes to command thirty-five strange girls." He paused. "She wouldn't be able to coordinate a large event like this. She wouldn't even hurt a fly!"
"Of course, she wouldn't," Nevaeh replied. "She's terrified of butterflies. She would run away from a fly."
"Exactly my point," he argued. "Look, you can make people do things, Nevaeh." Again, another pause. "You're the best candidate for this, and you know it. The people love you."
Nevaeh was torn. Flattery usually worked on her, but the Selection was something huge. She couldn't mess it up. As if you've ever messed up any other event you've organized, a voice said in her mind. True, she replied back.
"Please?" Tobias pleaded. "And it would be really nice to have you around the house again."
At that, Nevaeh smiled. "Okay, I'm in." There she had said it. "When?"
"We decided to have all the women come in on June 30th. It's Monday." He paused, trying not to drop too many bombs on her at once. "In two weeks."
Nevaeh snorted elegantly. Two weeks? A little heads-up maybe? She rubbed her forehead because rubbing her eyes would smudge her makeup and we couldn't have that. "All right. I need a few days to gather my stuff – since you know, I have things in Nice and in Paris – and buy a plane ticket. But I'll be there in a week at the most."
"Thank you," Tobias breathed out, clearly relieved. "We can send you our private jet if you want to–"
"No, Uncle Toby," Nevaeh cut him. "You know very well how I feel about private jets." She would fly on a normal flight, like everyone else. In first-class, of course.
"Yeah, sorry." Tobias Schreave chuckled awkwardly. "I'll see you in a week, then!" he said before quickly hanging up the phone before she could change her mind, leaving Nevaeh alone with a sudden huge weight on her shoulders. But she could take on anything. She had organized a gala in less than a week for her mother's charity. What was a little Selection, right?
She slipped the phone in her pocket and headed back to her laughing friends, stopping by her shoes to slip them back on.
"That was a long call," Adeline said in French. "And in English." She looked at the blonde duchess. "You don't look really happy. Who was it?"
"My Uncle."
"As in your uncle Uncle?" Manon asked. "The King of Illéa?"
"Prince Consort, but yeah."
"Same thing," Manon said, waving the correction away. "What's wrong?" she added when she saw the slight frown on Nevaeh's face.
"Long story short, the Princes' Selection was announced on TV on Friday evening."
"And?" Adeline asked. "They're your cousins. You're not going to participate in it, are you? That would be gross."
"Mais non, vieille poule," Nevaeh said to Adeline, swatting her friend's arm playfully. "Toby asked me to coordinate the whole thing and teach the girls some etiquette lessons."
The four guests' jaws dropped.
"No way," Manon said. "Are you serious? This is amazing!"
Needless to say, Nevaeh was pretty smug about it herself, but she would never let anyone know about it. Of course, she was the best candidate for that. She just needed to snap her fingers and people scrambled to do her bidding. This would be easy.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy, as Valerian would say when he was a little kid.
Translations:
Oh, mon Dieu, ça me fait tellement plaisir de te voir! = Oh my God, it's so nice to see you again!
Youhou, allô la lune, ici la terre = yoohoo, Earth to Jack. / This is Earth calling!
Mais non, vieille poule = Of course not, you old chicken.
So yeah here goes chapter two! I hope you also enjoyed Nevaeh's POV! she quite different from Jesse, but I adore her, too. Anyway...
There is going to be some French coming from Nevaeh in the rest fo the story, and I'd really like to write some French (since she can switch between the two languages easily, she will let slip some words of french here and there), also so that the half part of the title in French makes sense... heh. So, Please let me know if how I did it in this chapter (with French in italics and translations at the end) is okay with you. I promise, there won't be more than 3-4 lines of french from time to time...
So, that said, thank you to all of you who reserved a spot for this story! All twenty spots were filled in a single day, and that was a record! haha. I can't wait to meet the rest of the girls! and don't hesitate to send me a PM to bounce off your ideas or ask me questions ;) I reply fast since I'm practically all day on my computer, due to quarantine lol.
Thanks also for your reviews, I can't wait to read your thoughts for this chapter ;)